


a stroll in the garden

by ballonlea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21584401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballonlea/pseuds/ballonlea
Summary: Ferdinand was warm like the sun, and Hubert was beginning to hate the cold.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 10
Kudos: 131





	a stroll in the garden

**Author's Note:**

> [now with art!](https://twitter.com/VONAEGlR/status/1200263945887588353?s=20) thank you so much, marissa!!

Summer had been bleeding into autumn recently, the afternoon sun hanging lazily in the sky. It was cooler than it had been over the past couple of months, though it wasn’t quite cold enough to be deemed  _ cool.  _ Hubert still felt quite uncomfortable in his layers upon layers (which he had no intention of shedding—each layer was too important to his craft to give up) of dark clothing, which meant it wasn’t autumn enough to be properly deemed as such.

Ferdinand didn’t seem to mind any of it, Hubert noted, as he led the two of them throughout the garden he was most fond of taking his morning tea in. Ferdinand held Hubert’s arm so lovingly that Hubert hardly felt he deserved the affection. He always found himself thinking that Ferdinand’s attention was better directed towards all those frivolities he enjoyed so much. Like tea in the mornings, like a stroll or ride in the afternoon, like sitting down in the evenings and combing his hair precisely one hundred times.

Hubert used to scold him for such things. He used to sneer. Occasionally to his face, but mostly in private when they were younger. When his mind wandered while he did more monotonous tasks, he would find himself rolling his eyes at the mere  _ idea  _ that Ferdinand could have so much free time that he’d choose to visit one of his horses rather than work towards growing stronger.

“It is delightful to drink tea here in the early morning,” Ferdinand said, their pace slowing to a stop just before the beautiful terrace that sat at the east end of the garden. “The petals are still very dewy, and the weather tends to be mild enough that one might enjoy something hot at any time of year. You  _ must  _ join me before summer’s end.”

“Perhaps I shall,” Hubert said. He knew Ferdinand well enough to understand that once he extended an invitation, he would not drop it until it was taken. “When I’m not so busy.”

“You’ll  _ always  _ be busy if you don’t make the time, my love.” They began again, toward a flower bed to their right. “If I rise just before dawn and begin preparing immediately, my tea is at a perfect temperature for drinking right as the sun is rising. Which means you—” Ferdinand squeezed Hubert’s arm just a little tighter. “—might be able to sleep in a bit so you can have your coffee scalding.”

“You make it sound so  _ harsh, _ darling,” Hubert drawled. “I don’t take it scalding. A burnt tongue is too much of a bother.”

“Just below scalding, then.” Ferdinand released Hubert for a moment, then, leaning over to breathe in the scent of the flowers. “I shall miss these blooms terribly.”

The flowers were white, with yellow centers and long, thin petals. If Hubert had to guess, they were some sort of daisy. His understanding of plants began and ended with the poisonous ones, but Ferdinand’s knowledge of flowers grown purely for aesthetics stretched far and wide. Ferdinand could tell him exactly which it was and how much sun it needed if Hubert asked. Sometimes, he would tell him such even if Hubert didn’t ask.

Hubert didn’t need to  _ ask _ to infer that these flowers would soon die. Ferdinand looked at them as if their petals would fall off at any moment, as if they were only alive while he admired them, and as if they would vanish the second he glanced away. Still, he plucked one from its stem, straightening up and facing Hubert.

And he stared, dragged his eyes up and down Hubert’s body before he settled back on his face, pouting. “My love,” he said, “you’ve no place to fix a flower.”

“Are you surprised? You know well how I feel about such…”

Hubert let himself trail off. The last thing he wanted was to upset Ferdinand by saying what he really felt about the idea of pinning a flower to his person. It wasn’t really the frivolous nature of the gesture; it was more that Hubert did not think of himself as the flower-wearing type. Having something so bright affixed to his rather intimidating figure would be something of an eyesore. It wouldn’t fit right. He’d look  _ silly. _

So he took the flower from Ferdinand’s hand, turning it over in his fingers a few times. “But you have a perfect place to keep this, darling.”

Gently, he tucked Ferdinand’s hair behind his ear, sending the flower with it. It seemed to stay, and he let his hand cup Ferdinand’s reddening cheek.

“Beautiful,” he said, so quietly that it felt like the rustling of the leaves in the breeze. “Like it was grown just so it would end up as your adornment.”

“I love you.” The words tumbled out of Ferdinand’s mouth. He must have been waiting to say them for ages, though his offer of pulling Hubert from his study for a stroll in the gardens showed it more than words ever could. “Endlessly.”

“And I love you,” Hubert said. Which he wasn’t very good at  _ saying,  _ since the words still felt like a foreign language on his tongue. “Though I suppose you have me beat. I feel as though my love for you will end when the sun dies out, which is much shorter than  _ endlessly.” _

“Until the sun dies out,” Ferdinand repeated. “A sweet sentiment, but very morbid.”

Hubert raised an eyebrow, pressing a kiss to Ferdinand’s knuckles. “Did you expect any less?”

“How forward you’ve been this afternoon,” Ferdinand said. “One would think you’ve lost your mind.”

They continued their stroll shortly after, the whole ordeal taking a bit longer than it should have. The entrance of the garden only served as a reminder that they must  _ both  _ get back to work soon. Hubert had to prepare for the week’s mission, and Ferdinand had heaps of paperwork to straighten out for some proposal or another. Still, Hubert took the time to escort Ferdinand all the way back to his office before departing from him for the rest of the day.

“If I don’t get to see you again tonight, I shall let you know now that I fully intend on joining you tomorrow morning.”

Ferdinand smiled, a sight warmer than the glow of a fireplace. “Excellent! I'll meet you just before sunrise.”

“Yes,” Hubert said. “Just before sunrise.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! i'm super glad to be sharing this with you guys. i've been suffering from a writing funk for the LONGEST time, and my dear friend gave me the best advice ever and told me to "just write garbage" so i did and... it ended up being quite nice, actually. i've got a couple of other fics in the works for these two, so i hope you'll look forward to them!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/mezzosaka)


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